


Embroidery

by torikasa



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Dark, Established Relationship, Gore, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 13:33:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7389007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torikasa/pseuds/torikasa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A stitch here, a stitch there…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Embroidery

For months now, Kuro hasn’t been able to sleep. Being in college, even as just a freshman, has been exhausting to him. Every fiber of his muscles have been overworked, and he finds it strenuous to complete even the simplest of tasks nowadays. Just last night, he found himself trying to drink a cup of coffee to wake himself up and finish a project, only to end up missing his lips by a few centimeters and spilling scolding liquid all over his thighs.

(On the one occasion he wasn’t as busy, he was able to talk to his boyfriend, Hajime, on the phone and tell him about the unfortunate incident in vivid detail. Needless to say, the phone call didn’t last long because Hajime couldn’t even speak coherently through the prolonged giggle fit.)

His days have been so harsh on him lately that he hasn’t even been able to check up on his poor Hajime. Sure, he can still manage to send the obligatory “good morning” and “good night” texts every day, but other than that, he hasn’t been able to offer much of a conversation—be it through phone call or text message. Their text conversations have been really one-sided, with Hajime consistently asking him about his day and how he’s doing and all that stuff. Kuro wants to be able to text back, but he just doesn’t even have the energy or time to do that. He’s worried his boyfriend might have entertained ideas of potential malicious intent on Kuro’s side. He would never, ever harm Hajime though, emotionally or physically, and he wishes to be able to clear up any misunderstandings given the chance.

Naturally, when winter break rolls by and he suddenly finds his workload lessening every day, he scrambles at the given chance to spend the week with Hajime. He meticulously plans out every detail for their week-long getaway, deciding which places to go to and at exactly what time. This way, there is no room for error and he can show his cute boyfriend how much he truly appreciates him. He even plans to spend a good portion of his savings in order to spoil his little rabbit silly.

Hajime definitely deserves it for bearing with him through all this.

After carefully writing down their schedule for the week, Kuro tries to call Hajime. The younger boy usually responds within a few rings, but it takes Kuro three different attempts before Hajime picks up. It’s uncharacteristically odd, but just hearing the soft and gentle “hello” from the other end makes Kuro forget about it and smile a dorky, toothy grin.

“Hajime!” he accidentally yells out, the tone of his voice being maybe a little too excited. He takes a short moment to calm himself before continuing. “How have you been?”

“Ah, Kuro.” Hajime’s voice doesn’t seem excited at all. It sounds exasperated, even. Kuro feels a gnawing force tugging at his heartstrings, and he feels extremely worried. “I’ve been well. Just been busy with Ra*bits.”

“Oh? Tell me about it.” Kuro decides that he must be overthinking everything. His brain must still be fried after all the last-minute projects assigned a week before winter break. Hajime must just be tired, just like him. He, after all, has been picked as leader by the rest of his unit, and though Kuro has no experience in that department, he remembers his own leader working tirelessly for their unit, AKATSUKI. Hajime must be working hard too and hasn’t had much sleep and sounds like this as a result. Yes, that must be it.

He can hear a short yawn on the other end, proving his point and making him sigh in relief. “Well, Mitsuru has been difficult to deal with. He’s so full of energy. It’s really tiring. Tomoya… I wish he was leader instead of me, but I guess I don’t mind it too much. It’s kind of fun being able to be the leader and not the follower for once—and our newest member, Mika… well, he’s been really nice. He always has a stash of candy for some reason, and Mitsuru tends to eat it all and ends up all hyperactive and dashes around the practice hall and—oh, sorry for rambling…”

“No, no, keep going.” _I love hearing your voice_ , he wants to say, but he resists the urge. Instead, he settles for just listening to Hajime recount his stories at Yumenosaki, laughing at the funny mishaps and gushing at the general cuteness of all of the unit’s quirks.

After an hour has passed, Hajime says he has some errands to attend to and has to hang up. Kuro realizes too late that the conversation, again, has been a little too one-sided. He blames everything on being mesmerized by Hajime’s sweet and gentle voice, but regardless, he speaks up for the first time since the call began. “Wait, Hajime,” he begins, quickly gathering the courage to ask his boyfriend out on his planned getaway. “I was wondering… since I’m not busy this week, do you want to hang out? I have everything planned, and I’ll spoil you rotten, so if you’re not busy, I’d love to be able to treat you.”

There’s a long pause. Kuro grows restless at the awkward silence, but then Hajime’s voice comes out from the other end: “Sure, I’d be delighted to.”

The ends of Kuro’s lips curl upward into the biggest grin his face muscles could muster. He could barely contain his excitement already. He wants to tell Hajime everything about his plans, but he also wants to keep everything a secret and surprise him. Oh, what to do, what to do…

Suddenly, Hajime’s voice breaks him out of his reverie. “Oh, but can you come over tomorrow first? I need some help with a sewing project.”

Ah, they haven’t sewn together for the longest time. Just thinking about being able to sew with Hajime again, which was how the two had initially met, gives Kuro goosebumps. “Definitely. I’ll help in any way I can!”

“Perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow at noon, then.”

And with that, the other line is dead, but Kuro doesn’t mind. His body is jittery and light, and he feels like it will be like good old times again like when he was still in high school. He always fondly reminiscences his times together with Hajime, but the two sewing together have been some of his best memories of his angel. He treasures the memories dearly, so being able to sew with his boyfriend again is like a dream come true and a perfect start to their week.

An idea suddenly pops in his mind. They could sew shirts for each other to wear some time during the week. Kuro tucks the idea into the back of his mind and smiles proudly at himself, impatiently awaiting for tomorrow to come.

 

* * *

 

Kuro is early by half an hour before the appointed time. He is already at the doorstep of Hajime’s home and has rung the doorbell three times in succession, signaling his presence. The door opens after just a few seconds, and he finds himself staring down at his boyfriend. They haven’t seen each other for such a long time, so to Kuro, Hajime—who had grown a bit taller but has still retained his characteristic hairstyle—looks so foreign to him. He looks the same despite the closing gap between their heights, so Kuro doesn’t understand why he feels something… off about his boyfriend.

Nevertheless, he opens up his arms and is met with a warm body in response. He shivers slightly, the contact exhilarating, and enters the household once Hajime lets go. They are holding hands the entire time. Kuro feels as giddy as a young schoolgirl, but he keeps a cool exterior to prevent freaking out Hajime.

“No one is home?” Kuro questions.

Hajime giggles bemusedly. “Nope. It’s just us.”

Kuro blushes. No, no, just because they’re alone… No, he wouldn’t dare think like that. Go away, bad thoughts. All they’re doing today is sewing. Maybe a few pecks here and there… but everything else is strictly forbidden.

Hajime is still giggling. “I have a surprise for you actually. Put on this blindfold after you sit down on the chair in my room. I’ll be back in a bit.”

The light blue-haired boy hands a black piece of cloth to Kuro, who takes it questioningly but doesn’t think too much. Hajime is so sweet, having a surprise already planned out. Kuro feels he doesn’t even deserve someone as cute and kind as him.

When he enters the room, he finds a chair with a small table in front of it. On the chair is a plate of cookies and what looks like a glass of milk. There’s a small note next to the plate. Kuro recognizes the neat cursive as Hajime’s handwriting.

_Kuro,_

_Please sit down and remember to put on the blindfold. I have some refreshments for you in case you get hungry. It might take me a while to get the surprise ready, so please be patient with me. I promise you’ll love my surprise._

_Sincerely, Hajime_

The aromatic fragrance of the cookies makes Kuro salivate. He sits down on the chair and puts on the blindfold, sticking out his hands and gropes around for the cookies. He finally touches one with his fingertips and carefully grabs it, munching on the chocolate chip delight. Hajime’s baking skills are as good as they have always been. Better, even.

He cheats a little this time and lifts up a section of the blindfold in order to grab the glass of milk. He sips just a tiny bit of the milk, then sets the glass back down, sitting patiently and considering different ideas of what the surprise could possibly be.

But before he can think of much, he suddenly feels drowsy. His head feels foggy and lightheaded. He thinks his lack of sleep from before is the cause of this. He tries his best to stay awake by forcing his eyes open, but the darkness of the blindfold paired with the sudden lethargic feeling ends up making him snooze off into dreamland. His final thoughts prior to sleeping is Hajime’s angelic smile and aromatic lavender scent, and he ends up smiling a little before his mind completely phases into a cloud of ebony.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, Kuro, Kuro, Kuro.”

The voice is bitter and angry. Kuro opens his eyes but is only met with darkness. He tries to move his hands to remove the blindfold but quickly comes to realize that his arms and legs are restrained by some sort of plastic material. Are these… zip ties?

“It’s okay,” the voice says, a hint of amusement lacing his words. “Struggle all you want. It only makes this all the more amusing.”

While the tone of the voice is completely foreign, he recognizes it now: it’s Hajime’s. His heart sinks and he feels confused and betrayed and scared. He isn’t sure what to think right now, but his mind is racing and all he wants is to get out of this plastic shackles and apologize to Hajime for all his wrongdoings, because judging from that bitter tone, Kuro surely has made him angry enough to do something as uncharacteristic as this.

Kuro then suddenly realizes he has been stripped naked save for his boxers. He would be blushing like crazy from embarrassment right now if the situation wasn’t so dire.

“Why are you doing this?” His voice is simultaneously desperate and demanding, even if he is trying to keep a calm composure through this scary situation. His heart is pounding against his chest, and he feels like he’s going to vomit. “Please, tell me, Hajime… I’m sorry for being neglectful, but you don’t have to do this…”

“All my life I’ve been neglected,” Hajime spits out angrily, his voice shaky. “I thought it would finally be different with you, Kuro, but I was mistaken. In fact, you were the worst of them all.”

Kuro is sobbing at this point. His lips are quivering and it’s hard to talk, but he manages to choke out a string of coherent words somehow. “I… I’m sorry! College has been so stressful for me… I didn’t mean to ignore you! That’s why I planned out everything for this week… to make up for me being so horrible to you lately!”

“I should’ve sewn your mouth shut first. You’re annoying me.”

“Please, Hajime…”

“Oh, shut up, please. Here, I’ll take off the blindfold if it’ll make you be quiet for one second.”

And suddenly, the darkness is lifted—but in turn, it’s replaced with a different kind of darkness: Hajime’s indignant, red face.

Kuro has never seen Hajime scowl. He used to think it would’ve been a cute pout, but right now, experiencing the scene before him, he’s terrified out of his life and wants to think this is all a dream. He wishes, oh so badly, that this is all just a nightmare and that he’ll wake up soon. Hajime would never… he would never do something like this! This cute little bunny would never glare down at Kuro with such burning intensity and hatred, nor would he ever even think of harming another being in any sort of way. This isn’t the Hajime that Kuro knows and loves. This is just a shell of his body possessed by a force with only murderous intent in mind.

Kuro gulps down a lump stuck in his throat. “Hajime… what do you plan on doing, exactly? This isn’t like you at all. I don’t want to see you like this.”

“Well, I was thinking of practicing my sewing skills a bit by decorating you,” the blue-haired boy says plainly, his mouth twisting into a sickening smile. The lump returns in Kuro’s throat, but this time he isn’t able to gulp it down no matter how hard he tries.

“What… what does that mean…?”

Hajime’s smile grows wickeder. “You’ll see.”—and then he pulls two objects from behind his back. Kuro doesn’t realize what it is until closer inspection, and upon realization, his eyes widen and he starts struggling again. On the left hand is a spool wrapped in red thread and in the other hand is a thick needle. “Have you heard about the red string of fate, Kuro?”

“Yes…” he says nervously.

“I knew you would know, considering you’re such a huge romantic.” Hajime walks closer towards the redhead, every step making Kuro sweat even more. The needle’s points glints under the dim light. Kuro has never been scared of sewing needles, but right now, at this very moment, he starts to bawl just at the sight of it.

Imagine what everyone who thinks he’s a “tough guy” would think right now with him crying over a sewing needle. Surely, he would be made a laughing stock immediately. From Hajime’s amused giggling, he really would rather die right now. Hajime is the one person, besides his sister, that he wants to retain a cool image in front of; even if the situation is something straight out of a scene from a horror movie, he still wants to maintain his cool, if even for at least to keep his dignity and maybe even bore Hajime enough to warrant an end to this.

“If you scream, I’ll sew your mouth shut. Understood?”

Kuro nods obediently as Hajime begins to prick his chest with the sewing needle. It doesn’t feel too bad. It feels more like an acupuncture session without the deep penetration of the needle. Hajime’s other hand is gently squeezing Kuro’s, giving Kuro some hope that Hajime still has heart and will put an end to this soon.

Before he can try to talk the blue-haired boy out of releasing him, something changes in Hajime’s lavender eyes. It shifts from amused intrigue to something more akin to some type of bloodlust. His eyes seemed clouded and bearing all ill will. It frightens Kuro to no end—and then, all of a sudden, his skin starts feeling tingly, so he looks down and sees the sewing needle has been pierced through the epidermal layer of skin. The sensation is something like getting his first belly button piercing, but when he sees the red thread being laced through the punctures, his eyes grow wide and he begins to panic.

“Hajime, what… stop this, Hajime. _Hajime_.”

“I said I was going to decorate you, Kuro,” his junior responds with lack of emotion. “I’m sorry, Kuro, I’m so sorry. I don’t want to do this, but if it ensures that you will never leave me again, then I’m going to resort to this.”

Kuro’s eyes are watering again, but he tries his best to hold the tears back. “You don’t _have_ to do this, Hajime. Just calm down and think about everything for a second. Be rational, please, for my sake.”

“I am calm,” he says lividly. “And I did think about this through and through, and I’m going to make sure I’ve marked you properly so no one else can take your attention from me. You’ll always remember me when you feel the thread. You’ll _always_ remember that we’re bound by the same fate.”

Kuro doesn’t respond. He isn’t sure how to respond. He bears the stinging pain of each piercing of the needle, calming himself down by repeating in his head that this is just another piercing session, this is just another piercing session…

He has to close his eyes to remain calm. In some form or another, the sensation is a bit soothing (he swears he’s not a masochist), but Hajime had let go of his hand some time ago and Kuro wishes to feel the same comfort again.

After a few minutes of grueling pricks all across his chest, Hajime demands him to open his eyes to look at his work. Kuro does, and he looks down to see a threaded red heart on the side of his chest, their initials sewn in beautifully cursive font inside the heart. Fresh drops of blood drip down his chest. Kuro would find it awe-inspiring if he didn’t feel all the pain coming to him all at once, and he would find it romantic if it wasn’t sewn right into his skin, and he would be so impressed and delighted if he wasn’t all bloodied and bruised.

Hajime lifts up the blood-stained needle. “It’s beautiful,” he says nonchalantly, smiling a soft smile that Hajime normally does. But given the situation, Kuro only finds it more and more unnerving how the boy can smile like that.

His chest is an amalgam of blues and purples and reds. The blood loss isn’t extreme. His body can handle this. However, the state of his current mentality is up in the air. The situation oddly enough reminds him taking care of his first pet rabbit. The rabbit was obedient and kind to him, sitting in his lap while eating some lettuce, until one fateful day during his second year of high school when the rabbit randomly claws his cheek and bites his fingers. Fortunately, he bears no physical scars, but he has been cautious of bunnies ever since, never letting his guard down, not even for a split second.

This bunny… his bunny… he has been too careless. Hajime’s claws are out and, unlike his pet rabbit, his claws are leaving some nasty, permanent marks.

“Hajime, are we done…” he asks faintly, the strength being sapped away from him by the sick feeling coming from his stomach.

Hajime giggles in response, placing a gentle hand against Kuro’s cheek. “Aw, we’re just getting started, though. I promise I’ll make this as quick as possible. You’re _always_ busy, after all. I don’t want to take up too much time.”

Kuro sighs a little too loudly, which elicits the scariest response from Hajime: an inhuman growl and a piercing glare. The young boy mutters something incoherent under his breath and begins shuffling around the room in search of something. After just a few minutes, he comes back with a small, cute, pink sewing machine (he recognizes it immediately as he had given it to Hajime as a gift for his last birthday) and a clear little container filled with a variety of colored straight pins.

Hajime wastes no time. He runs his fingers through Kuro’s dark red locks and messes it up on purpose. Kuro blows away a stray strand that lands in-between his eyes.

He hears something click behind him and almost falls backward, realizing the back of the chair has been pushed back. Then, a pair of warm hands starts massaging his back. It feels nice, but Kuro knows all too-well that this is just a precursor to something terrible.

Kuro can feel some pricks against his back. This time they feel more like an acupuncture session yet not pleasing or stress-relieving at all. Rather, they feel more and more stress-inducing. The needles feel like they’re digging deeper than the top layer of skin. Kuro can’t help but groan in pain, but that just makes Hajime all the more livid as the needles are penetrating deeper and deeper into his skin.

“I’m making another heart,” Hajime mumbles softly. As more needles pierce his skin, Kuro becomes accustomed to the pain. He feels lukewarm, slightly viscous liquid stream down his back. His back is throbbing but his nerves are numbing and all he wants to do is sleep at this point. Take a long nap. Forget the pain. Forget the sorrow. Forget _Hajime_.

“All done.” Hajime returns in front of Kuro. Through lidded eyes, Kuro sees the younger boy smiling down at him affectionately. “You’re so beautiful, Kuro, laced with all these needles and threads. You’re my masterpiece—a work of art, indeed.”

“H-Hajime…” Kuro manages to choke out. His head is dizzying now. Nothing feels right anymore. Nothing feels like anything anymore.

He’s numb.

He’s broken.

He just wants to rest.

A pair of lavender eyes peers down at him. “Okay, let’s get on with the fun part.” The young boy pulls out the pink sewing machine, adorned with bunny and flower stickers, and starts tweaking with it until the presser foot and the feed dog are inches away from each other. He then places Kuro’s feet underneath the needle.

Kuro can’t even muster the strength to struggle.

“Oh, I don’t know what will happen, actually,” Hajime muses loudly. Kuro is tired, but he somehow gathers up enough strength from his adrenaline in order to yell out a string of desperate no’s that goes ignored. “But I like experimenting on you, so here goes nothing.”

The redhead yells out one final no as an act of desperation, but immediately finds himself halting to screech.

Stab. Stab. Stab. It’s endless. Stab. Stab. Stab.

The sewing machine is whirring wildly, thumping against the floor and carving a hole right through his foot. The stabbing sensation gets worse and worse, never once dulling in pain, as the overworked machine continues without fault. The sounds of the needle slamming against metal and ripping through flesh is enough to make Kuro vomit. But he has nothing to throw up, so all that happens is an uncomfortable sensation in his throat.

Red splatters all over the carpeted floor. His foot looks indiscernible now. It’s disgustingly torn. Pieces of flesh are stuck on the head of the needle.

“You’re so loud,” Hajime says, looking as if he has no intention in stopping the sewing machine. “I wish I had another machine so the other foot won’t be so lonely. But… oh!” Hajime smiles fondly. “I know of another way to make sure your other foot gets the same attention. I’ll be right back.”

With that, Hajme skips out of the room. Kuro is exhausted and the sewing machine is still working, but he tries to struggle free from the zip ties anyway.

The plastic gnaws at his wrists and legs the more he struggles, though. He is sweating and lightheaded. He thinks slicing off his arms and legs would be more preferable than this torture, but he has no idea how to perform the procedure with his entire body tied down.

He hears rhythmic footsteps outside the door. His heart races, and he swears it has already jumped out of his ribcage.

He struggles some more, but it only proves to make him more tired. His eyelids are heavy now. The whirring noises are clouding his already-blurring mind.

He wants to rest—a long rest.

When the door creaks open, he hears two snips. He begins to hyperventilate, his breaths rough and heavy and haggard.

He turns his head to the side and can barely make out Hajime’s silhouette. He is holding something. Some sort of scissors. They’re big and remind him of kitchen shears. Maybe they are. He doesn’t know anymore. He can’t think anymore.

His head rests on his broad shoulder and his eyes slowly come to a close. His consciousness is fading, but he can faintly hear Hajime giggling sweetly.

 _Snip. Snip._ “Time to take a long rest, Kuro.”

 

* * *

 

When he regains consciousness, he feels oddly refreshed. Sleep is truly good for the body and mind, and he promises himself that he will sleep more from now on, regardless of his tight schedule.

He tries to open his eyes, but he can’t seem to pry them open. Odd. Where was he again?

He tries to stand up, but he feels something shackling his entire body down. He opens his mouth but then realizes they can’t be opened. This is weird. This is freaky. What exactly is happening?

Ah, wasn’t he at Hajime’s house? And weren’t they supposed to be working on a sewing project together?

…sewing project, huh…

Oh. Haha. He was the sewing project. He remembers now. It’s all coming back to him.

He wiggles the toes of his foot, then the other—but he has nothing to wiggle. His fingers, too, seem to no longer be attached to his hands.

Some sort of strangled laughing noise forces its way out of his throat but the sound ends up getting trapped inside his mouth. He is wiggling around now. He doesn’t know what else he can do, anyway.

Maybe he can just sleep again. Prior to this, he hadn’t had sleep for months. It’s time for him to take a good, long rest.

He lays his head back and tries to relax. His consciousness is fading away again, and Kuro thinks, it’s nice being able to fall asleep this quickly for once. He can finally rest through all this trouble. He can finally heal.

He suddenly feels something soft on his cheek. It takes him a while to realize what the familiar feeling is, but he soon knows what it is: a short, sweet kiss from Hajime.

A saccharine voice whispers in his ear. “Remember when we first met? It was at the sewing clubroom and you were with your friend. Shu, I think.”

He nods.

“I fell in love at first sight with you, but I thought you were so far away being a third year. But we managed to work it out. Sort of, I mean. At the very least, we had your friend’s blessing.”

He nods.

“Well, you strayed for far too long ever since going to college, but you’re back to me now, and you’re here to stay.”

He nods.

“No one has to know what happened here. No one will know. You’ll be happy by my side for the rest of your life. I’ll take care of you. Look, I even bandaged your nubs. They look so cute. They look like snow bunnies. See, see?”

He tries to smile, but it proves rather difficult.

“I love you, Kuro. Don’t neglect me ever again.”

 _Yes_ , Kuro thinks, tears streaming down his face. _I love you too. I love you, Hajime._ _I’ll never leave your side again._

_Never again…._

_Never…_

_…_

**Author's Note:**

> Um, I usually write fluff, so... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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